Death investigation under way on Bokeelia

August 22, 2012

On Tuesday, Aug. 21, members of the Lee County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit received information from 45-year-old Daniel Proctor about the location of a body. As a result, deputies, detectives and crime scene technicians responded to a densely wooded area near Howard Road and Bahama Way, Bokeelia, late yesterday afternoon to investigate further.

A body has been discovered and members of the Forensics Unit will be continuing efforts at excavating the remains for most of the day. The deceased will be turned over to the District 21 Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine positive identification and cause of death. The Sheriff's Office death investigation continues.

Sheriff's Office detectives had been in Alabama to testify in the trial of Proctor a former resident of Bokeelia. On Sept. 5, 2011, Proctor was located in Okeechobee. He was sleeping in a stolen vehicle, at 3:45 a.m., when members of the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force approached him in a hotel parking lot. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported back to Lee County where he remained until extradited to Alabama on a warrant for grand theft auto and theft of a firearm.

Earlier that month, investigators identified Proctor as a suspect in the disappearance of his girlfriend Amy Patterson, a middle school teacher with the Lee County School District. She was reported missing in July, 2011 when she did not show up for the start of the school year, July 25. Detectives feared she was the victim of a domestic homicide. Proctor had reportedly fled in her vehicle, which was recovered in Alabama. He stole another vehicle, a 1997 Ford Explorer, and a .380 handgun before leaving a note indicating he may be en route back to Florida.